


You are my Song (and you are where I want to be)

by Why_so_drama



Series: We’ll make them so jealous [2]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2010-2011 Season, Alpha! Geno, Alpha! Jamie, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bond Compatibility, Bonding, Domesticity, Excessive Cuddles, Found Family, M/M, Mentions of underage drinking, does not follow a proper timeline, feels feels feels, lots of feels, omega! Sid, omega! Tyler, so many feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 14:39:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12866640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_so_drama/pseuds/Why_so_drama
Summary: Tyler and Jamie have accidentally bonded. Now what are they going to do?Direct sequel toI got no Regrets.





	You are my Song (and you are where I want to be)

**Author's Note:**

> This is where the timeline starts to get a little messed up. Please bear with me, it’s for a good/ interesting reason (in my opinion). Also, I sped up Sid’s concussion recovery because I wish he hadn’t had to suffer for so long.
> 
> Title belongs to The Dangerous Summer and their song _Where I want to be_
> 
> Series Title belongs to Fall Out Boy and their song _It's Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine, I Am Thinking It Must Be Love_

It takes them a bit to catch on to the bond. After Tyler had called Jamie back from the airport, they’d spent another few days together. Of course Tyler had the cup parade, which Jamie had watched on the local news but not actually attended, but there had also been parties and other events with the Bruins, which Jamie had been present for. He hasn’t left Tyler’s side for more than a few hours since meeting him in the Bruins dressing room in Vancouver.

He’d been right at Tyler’s side through it all, and in Tyler’s bed with him every night. Jamie had known that they were walking a thin line but he couldn’t force himself to leave, not when Tyler was asking him to stay with his every look, every touch and every move. Jamie’s tried to put some distance between them a few times now, but Tyler doesn’t seem to want to let him go. Tyler is the one that had insisted they wait to bond, so if Tyler wants to keep him around, Jamie is the last person that’s going to complain.

Everything is put into perspective when they’re lying together, blissed out from some very excellent sex, the day after the cup parade. Tyler is gorgeous, flushed from the exertion, breathing heavy. Jamie feels a rush of affection flood through him as he looks forward, and then sees Tyler smile, as if he can feel it. As soon as Tyler turns to look at him, Jamie feels another rush of desire, and he knows that it’s not coming from him entirely.

“Again?” He asks. Tyler is still breathing hard, not even recovered from the first round, but Jamie feels like he wants to climb on top of him and start things up, to see how long it takes them to get there again.

“Dude, I just let you make a mess of me, you can’t-” Tyler’s eyes widen suddenly, and he sits straight up, panicked. “Oh fuck,” he says. “Oh fuck, oh fuck.” He wrenches himself away from Jamie and starts pacing the room. “This can’t be fucking happening. Fuck. Fuck, fuck,” he starts to chant. “Holy fuck, I thought- fuck, fuck, fuck. Jamie, what the fuck? What the actual fucking fuck? I need- I- fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck-” 

Jamie watches, frozen where he’s sitting on the bed, as Tyler grabs his phone, and then walks through the door leading to the en-suite. He hears the door close and- yep, that was the lock- and then Tyler’s voice getting frantic. He’s not entirely sure if Tyler is on the phone or not, but Jamie knows that he needs to do something. 

He slips his underwear back on and pads over to the door, knocking lightly once he gets there. “Ty, come on babe, we should talk about this.”

“Go away!” Tyler calls through the door, then Jamie hears his muffled voice continue. At this point, Jamie can tell that he’s on the phone, but he has no idea who with. 

“Ty, please,” Jamie begs through the door. “Please come back.” He’s already noticing that their bond doesn’t like that their apart while Tyler is upset. In fact, he feels like their bond doesn’t like that there’s a door between them at all. It makes him wonder if the bond specialist that Tyler sought out had been wrong about their level. This feels like a lot more than a level five- at least from what Jamie’s heard.

“No,” Tyler responds. 

Jamie takes a breath and sinks down to the floor with his back to the door. He doesn’t know what to do. All he does know if that his bondmate is in distress, but Tyler doesn’t want the comfort that Jamie can provide. He hears Tyler on the phone again but he can’t tell what he’s saying. All he knows is that Tyler is getting more and more agitated and worried the longer that he’s locked in the washroom. 

“Fuck!” He hears come from the other side of the door. “Fuck, fuck.” The shuffling of feet sounds and Jamie is pretty sure that Tyler is pacing. He leans his head back against the door and closes his eyes. 

“Okay, well, I’ll just stay out here, yeah?” Jamie offers. He grabs his own phone, because if he can’t be of comfort to Tyler, he knows who can. Almost immediately after finding out that he was compatible with Tyler, Jamie had gotten a very interesting phone call from Evgeni Malkin, basically bullying him into promising to take care of Tyler no matter what, and not to burn him. At that point, Jamie had already been sure about this, and he’d made sure that Malkin-call-me-Geno knew it. 

Jamie texts Geno, telling him what had happened and asking for him to call Tyler, maybe calm him down a little. He doesn’t like the idea that another alpha will be calming his bondmate down, but he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Geno response comes quickly, simple _tell him to answer when we call_. 

He breathes in a sigh of relief and then calls out, “Hey, babe? Geno is going to call you okay? Please answer.”

Tyler doesn’t answer Jamie, just seems to keep pacing in the bathroom, but Jamie hears Tyler’s phone go off, and he hears Tyler answer. The phone call is very short and eventually, he hears the shower start up. Tyler doesn’t open the door even after he’s done, choosing to keep himself apart from Jamie still. Jamie can’t help but feel rejected by Tyler’s actions, even though he should have expected them. He reaches the tips of his fingers beneath the door, just in case, but otherwise refuses to move. He and Tyler are in this together now, and he wants his bondmate to know that he’s there for him.

After a long, long while- at least a few hours if Jamie had been keeping track of the time- he hears Tyler slump against the door and he feels Tyler’s fingers brush against his own. “I’m not mad,” Tyler tells him. “I mean, I’m upset, but not about you. You’re the only fucking good thing that’s coming out of this.”

“Can you please come out?” Jamie asks him. “Please? I hate this, right now. I just want to hold you, and make sure you’re okay.” Jamie isn’t usually one to assert himself, unless he’s on the ice, but they’re bonded now and he has needs, just like Tyler does.

“I can’t look at you right now,” Tyler admits, and that- that cuts deep. Jamie can’t get a hold of his emotions before he hears Tyler whimper. “It’s not like that,” he says. “I promise. It’s just- the problem is that I can’t keep my hands off of you. I can’t look at you and I can’t touch you because if I do, we won’t talk about this, and we need to figure this shit out. If I come out, I’m gonna want to kiss you, and I can’t right now. I just- I can’t, okay?”

That makes it a little bit better, but Jamie is still feeling pretty shitty about the entire situation. He’d known that Tyler hadn’t wanted them to bond, and he’d let himself get caught up with spending time with his bondmate. He should have been more firm about putting some space between them but… he’s not the one that doesn’t want this. He’s wanted this since he’d first found out that he and Tyler were compatible, damn the barriers that they’d have to overcome.

“I need you to understand that I want this. I’ve wanted it since the beginning,” Jamie tells him. “There hasn’t been a minute that I didn’t want to be bonded since I met you. I don’t fucking care what happens to us, as long as we’re in this together, Ty,” Jamie tells him firmly. “I want _you_.”

He hears Tyler take in a deep breath, feels his fingers wriggle against Jamie’s before he admits, “I want you, too. But- but what about hockey?”

Jamie deflates at that. He really has no idea what is going to happen since they’re both under contract to teams that are across the country from each other. They aren’t going to be able to make that distance work, so they’re going to have to figure out where they can play, to make sure that they’re playing together. 

The thing is, Jamie is willing to go anywhere for Tyler. He doesn’t care where they end up, as long as he has Tyler there with him. He’s surprised at the realization, since he had thought that he would want to stay in Dallas but now, he knows that if Dallas doesn’t want them both, then he doesn’t want to stay there. “We’ll figure hockey out. Even if we have to chill on the NHL for a bit. We can go overseas, or whatever…”

“Russia has a thing for omegas. We could go there if we need to,” Tyler admits. 

“Sure. If we can’t play together here, we’ll go to Russia,” Jamie agrees without thinking about it further. “Ty, please,” Jamie begs. “Please come out. I need you-”

He hears Tyler sigh and quietly admit, “I need you too.” Tyler’s fingers are gone suddenly, and Jamie hears him stand up. “I’m coming out,” he says. 

Jamie breathes a sigh of relief and scrambles to get up as he hears the lock click and the door creak a little as Tyler opens it. Tyler is in his arms before he knows it, burying his face in Jamie’s neck. Jamie brings his hands up and rubs them over Tyler’s back, offering him as much comfort as he can. It’s all very sweet until, “Jay, you need a shower. We’ve spent like, the past twenty four hours fucking and we’re about to have some guests…” 

“Guests?” Jamie asks, confused. 

“Yeah…” Tyler responds without elaborating. “But hey, I’ll come with you because I don’t want to let you out of my sight right now.”

Jamie doesn’t bother questioning Tyler about their guests further. Instead, he draws Tyler into the washroom with him and then under the hot spray of Tyler’s oversized shower. “How many other alphas have you had in here?” He teases. Tyler hadn’t kept his exploits a secret from Jamie after they’d met, so Jamie knows all about the guys Tyler had brought home with him.

“Oh my god, so many,” Tyler laughs. “But you’re the only one that matters.”

Jamie drags him in for a kiss then, unable to resist. Tyler is his now, and Tyler is the only one that matters for him, too. Tyler presses against him easily, and Jamie takes the invitation to deepen the kiss. He runs his hands over Tyler’s body, hands sliding over his skin because of the water flowing over them. He brings his hands further down and cups Tyler’s ass, causing the omega to moan against his mouth. Jamie licks his way into Tyler’s mouth and tips Tyler’s head back so that he can get better access. 

They kiss, open mouthed and desperate, until Jamie feels himself starting to get hard against Tyler’s thigh. “You’re the only one that will ever matter,” Tyler whispers against Jamie’s lips. 

Jamie has to kiss him again, has to press Tyler back against the shower wall and kiss the breath out of him. He trails his lips over Tyler’s jaw and then buries his face in his neck. “Ty,” he says. “Ty, I love you.”

Tyler pulls away then, which is a little worrisome for Jamie, until he look at Tyler and meets his eyes. “You love me?” He asks, incredulous. “You actually love me? You want this with me?”

“I told you I did,” Jamie responds. “We’re bonded now, and there’s nothing I wanted more than this, with you.” He brings a hand up and cups Tyler’s cheek, brushing his thumb over his soft skin. “I love you, and we can figure this out, okay?”

Tyler looks down and then meets Jamie’s eyes again as a brilliant smile crosses his face. Jamie gets the feeling that Tyler hadn’t expected this to happen, that Tyler hadn’t thought he would find someone compatible with him, or that if he did, that person would resent him for it. Jamie doesn’t feel that way about it at all. This isn’t something he’s resentful about, this is something that he wants, and he needs Tyler to understand that. He kisses Tyler softly and then presses his lips to Tyler’s cheeks, his forehead, his nose. “We’re gonna figure this out, I promise.” 

“I trust you,” Tyler replies. “I know we’re gonna figure this out. Now, I think you need to take me to bed, and show me how much you love me, Benny.” 

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do that. I think I’m going to be trying to do that for the rest of our lives, and there still won’t be enough time.”

“Oh my god, that was so cheesy,” Tyler responds. “So fucking cheesy, Benny. But… I kinda liked it.” 

Jamie grins at him and then pulls away so that they can scramble out of the shower together. They move slowly because they can’t stop kissing each other. Jamie’s hands are all over Tyler’s slick skin, his mouth sucking marks into Tyler’s neck when they hear a knock on the door. 

“Shit,” Tyler curses. He sags against Jamie for a moment before straightening up and wrapping a towel around his waist. “Our guests are here. Uh, you need to get dressed or whatever. Just borrow some of my shit, yeah?” Tyler doesn’t bother going to get dressed, he just exits the washroom and goes to answer the door, wearing only a towel. Jamie just sighs and finds himself a pair of sweatpants and a Bruins Hockey tee. It fits pretty tightly across his shoulders and chest, and feels weird since he's always been outfitted in stars gear up until now, but it's not like he'd packed before hopping on the Bruins private plane. Then he follows Tyler out to the doorway. 

Jamie nearly trips over his own feet when he sees who is at the door. Standing there are Evgeni Malkin and Sidney fucking Crosby. “Holy shit,” Jamie utters, still surprised at seeing who is actually there. “Ty, you didn’t tell me that our guests were going to be Evgeni fucking Malkin and Sidney fucking Crosby.”

“Just Sid and Geno fine, beside, we meet before, in text,” Geno responds, clearly amused. He moves forward into Tyler’s condo and that makes Jamie go rigid all over. Without even thinking about it, Jamie forces himself between Tyler and Geno and then gently moves Tyler back. “What you do, baby alpha?” 

Jamie actually doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he can’t stop himself from standing up straight and narrowing his eyes at the other alpha. He’s never felt this way before, about anyone, so he’s pretty sure it’s the newness of the bond that’s making him react this way. He steps up close enough that he can smell Geno, and that’s the thing that ends up calming him down. Geno doesn’t smell like a threat to Tyler. In fact, Geno and Sid smell almost identical to each other. Just as he’s about to back down and apologize, Tyler grabs his arm and drags him back. “What the fuck are you doing, Jamie?” he hisses. “These are my friends.”

“I don’t know,” Jamie admits, blinking over at Tyler. “I just-”

“Is okay, I try to punch Flower when we come back from bond heat, and he beta,” Geno responds nonchalantly. He leads Sid in and closes the door behind them. “We come because we call baby omega and he all scare. He say you bond but specialist say you not bond with sex. And he ask us come here.”

“The bond specialist said that we were a level five or something, and that it would take longer for us to actually form a bond. Benny’s been here for three and a bit days, so it shouldn’t have fucking happened!” Tyler states indignantly. 

“I wanted it to happen,” Jamie replies. “I wanted to be bonded. Would that have made a difference?” 

He feels Tyler squeeze his hand and hears, “I want it too.” 

“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Sid replies thoughtfully. “Zhenya and I didn’t even know each other to want it, and we bonded right away. Phil and Hags have been trying to bond for years now, and they want it more than anyone else I’ve ever met. I don’t think the specialist you visited knew what the hell they were doing, because a level five bond would have taken much more contact to take hold.”

“We uh… fucked a lot?” Tyler offers. 

Sid shakes his head, “it doesn’t matter, not if you’re a level five. So you’re probably actually much more compatible than that.”

“Fuck,” Tyler curses. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Ty,” Jamie replies, hurt, “I thought-”

“It’s not you, babe,” Tyler stresses. “It’s fucking hockey, and being fucking lied to. The Bruins weren’t really into me being an omega in the first place, so they’re not going to be fucking okay with the fact that I’m bonded now.”

“How about we go sit down to talk about this,” Sid suggests, which is definitely a good idea. “And we’ll figure out a game plan, alright?”

That seems like a good enough idea, but Jamie is still a little wary about having another alpha so close to his bondmate, especially when his bondmate is only wearing a towel. First, he drags Tyler into the bedroom, where Tyler at least pulls on a pair of underwear, and then they go back to the living room. He pulls Tyler down into his lap and is rewarded with a soft smile and Tyler’s arms around his shoulders. Sid and Geno take the other couch in Tyler’s living room and sit just a little bit further apart. Jamie is mostly distracted by Tyler, who is nuzzling his neck as Jamie runs his hands over his back, but brings it back to their guests when one of them clears their throat. 

“Uh, sorry?” Jamie offers.

“Relax, G, Jamie and I just bonded. All we wanna do is touch each other and stare into each other’s eyes,” Tyler complains.

“We here for help,” Geno shoots back.

“You can fuck later,” Sid states. “Right now, we need to figure out some hockey stuff. Obviously Tyler wants to keep playing-”

“No shit.” 

“So that means you have to have a meeting with your agent and your GM as soon as possible. I’ve called our bond specialist and she’ll be here tomorrow, so you guys can get tested for bond level. Guaranteed it’s not a level five though. It’s probably not even a level four. It took you longer than it took us, but, no one else is like us.”

“We best,” Geno adds, sticking his tongue between his teeth and grinning. 

“You’re the friends that bonded basically by looking at each other?” Jamie blurt out. 

“It was a bit more involved than that, but uh- not by much,” Sid admits. 

“We so drama, bond with handshake,” Geno explains. He reaches over and squeezes Sid's thigh and shoots him an adoring look. “Sid so mad, like angry kitten, but works out. We no drama now.” 

It obviously has, since Sid mirrors Geno’s look and moves a little bit closer to him. Jamie starts to feel like he and Tyler are intruding when Geno dips his head down to press a soft kiss to Sid’s forehead but soon, they’re turning back toward them. 

“Sorry not sorry, you interrupt sex vacation.”

“Zhenya!” Sid cries, shocked. 

“Is true! Baby alpha text in middle of best-”

Jamie can’t help but giggle when Sid jumps on top of Geno in an effort to cover his mouth. Instead, they end up kissing, and Jamie forces himself to look away. 

“This is all really cute and hot, but can we please pay attention to my crisis!?” 

“I told you what you need to do,” Sid replies, trying to look innocent. It doesn’t work because he’s slipped into Geno’s lap and he very obviously wants to go back to kissing his alpha. “Jamie, you should call your agent and GM too, although you’ll probably have to have a group call because I don’t think that you’ll be able to get back down to Dallas for a bit…” That seems to be all Sid has to say for the time being because his attention is caught up by Geno again. 

Jamie looks at Tyler and shrugs, then urges him off of his lap. “Might as well do what we’re supposed to,” he says. 

Tyler nods and heads to his bedroom while Jamie goes to the kitchen. Jamie ends up talking for a while, having been able to catch both his agent and his GM at the same time. He explains the situation to them and they actually seem pretty happy about it, which is a bit of a surprise. “So what do I have to do, then?”

“Leave it to us for now, Benn, but let me be the first to say that it would be a pleasure to have Seguin on the team. We just need to make it happen, now.” 

Jamie isn’t sure if that will be easy or not. It seems like the Bruins aren’t going to be very happy about the situation so maybe they’ll be happy to get rid of Tyler. Hopefully this ends up being easy for them, even though he has a sinking feeling that it’s not going to be. 

He waits in the kitchen until Tyler’s door opens, then he comes out to meet his bonded. “Ty?”

“I have a meeting tomorrow,” Tyler tells him, slipping into his outstretched arms effortlessly and then pressing his face in the crook of Jamie’s neck.

“Do you want me to come?” Jamie asks. 

“No, I have to do it myself,” Tyler replies. “But, maybe be around after?”

“You aren’t getting rid of me anymore, babe,” Jamie replies. “I’m always gonna be here.” 

Tyler lets Jamie hold him for a bit longer and then they walk back over to the living room, hand in hand. Sid is still in Geno’s lap and they’re kissing, again. Jamie’s eyes widen and looks over at Tyler, afraid again that he’s interrupting. Tyler just shrugs and saunters in. “I have a meeting tomorrow.”

Geno and Sid spring apart and Sid has the decency to look sheepish. “That’s, uh, that’s good. It’s a step in the right direction.”

“Dallas wants you too, if we can make it happen,” Jamie offers. “I mean, if you want to leave Boston.” Jamie hasn’t mentioned as much, but he doesn’t really want to move to Boston and play for them, so he’s hoping that Tyler wants to join him in Dallas. If it comes down to it though, he’s willing to go wherever Tyler is going to be.

“I mean, Texas is pretty nice right? We can have a pool all year long, and maybe some dogs?” Tyler responds. 

“Anything you want,” Jamie promises. “All the pools and dogs you can handle.” 

“I don’t think you know what you promise. Baby omega like dogs a lot,” Geno responds. His hands are still on Sid’s hips and he doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to anything but his bondmate. Sid is similarly distracted. 

“So, dinner?” Jamie suggests. 

“We could eat,” Sid agrees. Finally, he gets off of Geno’s lap and slides onto the couch next to him. “Sorry, we’ve been terrible guests. I just… uh… finished my heat? Yesterday?” he offers as an explanation. “So it’s-”

“I get it,” Tyler replies. “All I want is cuddles after my heats. Don’t worry, Croz, I’ll cuddle the shit out of you.” 

“Also Sidnushka just clear for sex, after concussion.”

“Yeah, we weren’t really able to get up to much, but I think that it’s finally starting to go away. No headaches for a couple weeks now.”

“That’s awesome!” Tyler says. He breaks away from Jamie to move forward and give Sid a hug. “See, told you I’d cuddle the shit out of you.” 

“That’s really okay. How about we just get some food into us and call it an early night,” Sid suggests and Jamie finds himself agreeing. 

Even though Sid’s symptoms seem to be gone, it’s probably still better that he rest to be sure. Jamie knows that concussions are nasty things and Sid seems to have been dealt the nastiest one.

“What are you thinking, Ty?” Jamie asks him, changing the subject.

“I got some menus,” Tyler states and disappears into the kitchen. He spreads them out on the table when he gets back. Together, they decide on getting Thai food. They chat a bit while they’re waiting, with Sid asking them questions about how quickly they were able to bond once they started having contact with each other, which actually kind of confuses Jamie.

“We didn’t really notice it, just, earlier today, Tyler was, uh…”

“I wanted more sex after we’d just had it,” Tyler supplies.

“And I felt it,” he admits. He doesn’t really like telling them about their sex life, but it seems like the more information he can provide, the easier it will be to figure out what actually happened. 

“There was no definitive feeling then? No time where it felt like you guys were more connected than before?” Sid asks. 

“For me, feels like lightning,” Geno offers. “And then I feel happy, because I’m bond with Sidnushka.” 

“Sidnushka, oh my god, that’s adorable,” Tyler pipes in.

“You hear before,” Geno accuses.

“Doesn’t stop it from being adorable every single time,” Tyler retorts.

“Nothing like that,” Jamie says. “But like, I’ve been happy the whole time that I’ve been here, because I’m with Tyler. I’ve been feeling pretty good this whole time.” 

Crosby frowns and turns toward Geno. “We didn’t know each other at all when we bonded, so I wonder if them knowing each other made it harder to figure out when the bond happened. Did you have feelings for each other before this?” 

Jamie flushes and looks at Tyler, nodding. “Yeah, I did.”

“Me too,” Tyler tells him. “We both really like each other, okay?”

Sid nods, “I can tell. That wouldn’t have made you bond more quickly but it might have made it harder to realise it happened. You guys already like each other-”

“And we were boyfriends,” Tyler adds.

“Okay, and you were boyfriends-”

“It was an open relationship since the bond specialist said we could only have sex a few times before risking a bond and I didn’t want either of us to not get laid for like, ten years,” Tyler explains. “But then, Benny was there when I won the cup, and then he came home with me and I didn’t want him to leave. I just- I wanted him here with me, and after the first time we fucked, I didn’t want to do it with anyone else, and I’ve been fucked by a lot of alphas, okay?”

“Okay, so you had feelings for each other and quickly found out that you wanted to be exclusive?” 

“Yeah, I guess?” Jamie offers. He hadn’t waited around for Tyler or anything, having had his own one night stands while they were waiting to bond, but he would have been more than willing to be exclusive. He’s never had a problem with wanting to be with only Tyler but he’d wanted to do anything to make sure Tyler was comfortable. He’s not upset that they weren’t exclusive, by any means, but he’d have been perfectly willing to try something long distance, as well. He’s about to say more but their food arrives and interrupts the conversation. 

“I’m only asking because I’m going to e-mail the bond specialist that we deal with to see what she thinks,” Crosby explains. “That way she can have some ideas before getting here tomorrow.”

Jamie nods and goes out to help Tyler with the food. Much to his surprise, Tyler insists on transferring it to actual dishes from the take out containers and then proceeds to set the table. He settles Jamie down at the head, then manages to corral the other two into the dining room. Sid and Geno still sit close together, but they behave for the duration of the meal.

“Congratulations, by the way,” Sid murmurs around a bite of spring roll. 

“I mean yeah. I landed the hottest alpha in the league,” Tyler responds. “No offense, G.”

“Sid think I’m hottest, so I not care what you say,” Geno responds, chuckling.

“I meant about winning the cup,” Sid states drily, but there’s a smile dancing around on his lips. “You know, the one thing we all bust our asses to get all year?” 

“Oh yeah, that,” Tyler says with a shrug. “I mean, that’s pretty great too.”

Jamie looks over at him, completely shocked that his bondmate had forgotten that he’d won the Stanley Cup because they’d bonded. “You- Ty-”

“Hey, no biggie, right? I mean, I just- There are bigger things happening right now than me scoring one goal to win the cup, right?” Tyler shifts toward him and Jamie leans in as well, sensing that his bondmate needs a little bit of support. Tyler takes his hand and Jamie squeezes gently. “I can’t believe…”

Sid looks like he can’t imagine forgetting that he’d won the Stanley Cup but Tyler just shrugs. Jamie sort of understands. There has been a lot going on for Tyler since the cup parade and despite being part of the team, Tyler’s teammates haven’t really contacted him too much since then either. Jamie finds that strange in and of itself, since he’s heard from at least half of his team since he’d gotten on that plane after Tyler’s cup win, and they certainly don’t have any cause for celebrating. It makes Jamie wonder about what it really was like for Tyler here and he finds himself hoping that Tyler wasn’t alone as much as Jamie is imagining. 

“Babe, it’s fine,” Jamie murmurs. “We’re gonna be fine.”

“Is just cup,” Geno replies with a shrug, “can win again. Never find bond again. This special time for you. It’s same for me, if I’m bond with Sid, after cup.”

“Exactly,” Tyler agrees, finally regaining his footing. “And you guys were lucky, being on the same team and shit.”

“We really are,” Sid agrees. “But you’re going to end up on the same team too,” he promises. “I’m going to make sure that you’ll both be able to keep playing.”

Tyler sags against Jamie’s shoulder and nods. “That’s- yeah. That’s what I want.” 

Jamie can tell that he’s still nervous about everything but he’s trying his best to hide it. He presses his nose against Tyler’s temple and tells him, “I’ll make sure too. I’m sure Crosby-”

“It’s Sid, please,” Sid replies.

“I’m sure Sid has more connections and has a better plan, but I’m going to do everything that I can too, okay?” Jamie assures him. “Even if we can’t figure out how to get you to Dallas, there’s always Russia.”

Geno perks up at this and nods in agreement, “Russia best, love omega there. Is good place for new bond.” 

Tyler flashes Jamie a smile and then finally stands up. “Okay, we can do this,” he says before starting to clean up the table. Sid stands up to help and then Jamie does as well, but ends up being sidelined by Geno. 

“Baby alpha, come talk. Have things to say,” he says as he guides Jamie toward the living room. Jamie shoots Tyler a worried look and Tyler just shrugs at him and grins a little. Jamie knows that he’s in trouble now. He’d already gotten a warning from Geno, but he’s pretty sure that now he’s really in for it.

In the living room, Geno rounds on Jamie and arches an eyebrow at him. “Tyler is good friend for me and Sid, and we see things happen to him over few years, you know? He’s like baby brother for us and we not want see him hurt. So you not gonna hurt him, baby alpha.” He sounds dangerous, like there’s a threat lying beneath the surface. Jamie had heard a little about the alpha that had been a call up to the Bruins, and how shortly after, he’d been sent right back down, and then he’d been let go entirely. Jamie is starting to think that it’s not a coincidence that Tyler had also told him that it was the worst sexual experience of his life, because the guy had had very particular views on omegas. He’s starting to think that maybe Sid and Geno had something to do with it. They seem to be trying to change the opinions about omegas all across the league, but in a particularly underhanded way. Jamie hadn’t even noticed it. “He’s hurt before, and is not okay with me, or Sid, so you better-”

“All due respect, Malkin, but I don’t have any intentions of hurting Tyler. I’ve wanted this bond since the beginning but I want it even more now that I’ve gotten the chance to get to know him. There is no part of me that wants anything bad to happen to him, okay? I want him to be happy, I want to give him everything he wants, even if that’s like, ten dogs. I want him to come to Dallas with me because my team wants him, and is happy for us, and because I want him. I know everything about the alphas he’s been with, okay? It doesn’t bother me. I always knew that he’d be mine, eventually, and that’s never been something that I don’t want,” he explains before taking another breath and continuing, “I don’t have any weird ideas about what omegas are supposed to do. I only want him to be happy, and I want him to be with me because I love him. You may be like a big brother to him, or whatever, but Tyler is my bondmate, and I’m gonna do what I think is best for him.”

Jamie isn’t expecting Geno to smile; he’s expecting more of an argument. What happens is Geno patting him on the shoulder and saying, “good job. I think Tyler’s safe with you.” Jamie isn’t sure what Geno knows about Tyler’s past, but it’s obviously a bit more than Jamie knows himself. That’s okay though. He and Tyler have a lifetime to get to know each other now. 

Tyler and Sid come into the living room soon after Jamie and Geno finish their conversation and Sid lists against his alpha. “Bed,” he demands. “I’m so tired.” 

“I mean, you didn’t have to come right away…” Tyler responds, shuffling his feet a little. 

“We did, and it’s okay,” Sid replies. “But I really need some more rest. We’ll see you in the morning, eh?” 

“Just in Cole Harbour,” Geno replies with a shrug. “Flight not ever two hours. Is no big deal, come help.”

Tyler nods and Jamie watches as Sid pulls him into a tight hug, brushing his hands gently through Tyler’s hair. “It’ll be okay, boys,” he says. “We’re gonna make sure it is.” Jamie watches as Tyler nods his head against Sid’s neck before they finally let go of each other. 

“Goodnight,” Jamie offers. Sid and Geno wave at him on their way to the spare room. 

Jamie guides Tyler to the master and they trade off in the washroom. When they finally get to bed, Jamie methodically strips Tyler out of his underwear- since he’d never bothered getting dressed- and then proceeds to lick him open until he’s desperate and begging. They haven’t gotten the chance to get tested yet, so he rolls a condom on before pressing inside and fucking Tyler into the mattress. 

When he’s tired Tyler out, and thoroughly satisfied him, Jamie cleans them both up and pulls Tyler in against his chest. He doesn’t think he needs to say anything to reassure him, so he just kisses Tyler’s hair as they drift off to sleep.

***

When Jamie wakes up the next morning, Tyler isn’t in bed with him, but he hears noises in the kitchen and can smell some coffee brewing. Jamie stretches and then kicks off the blankets before borrowing a pair of Tyler’s jogging pants and heading out to find his bondmate. 

Tyler is in the kitchen, as expected, but what’s not expected is that Tyler is completely naked. Now, this had been the norm for the past few days. Tyler doesn’t seem like putting on any clothes unless they’re actually leaving the condo for some reason. Jamie has been enjoying the fringe benefits of this up until now, but he hadn’t expected Tyler to continue with it since this time they have guests. “Uh, Ty?” Jamie says as he comes in. He can’t resist pulling Tyler in from his hips and pressing a kiss to his cute little lips. 

“Morning, babe,” Tyler replies as he leans in for another kiss. 

“You think you might wanna put some clothes on? I mean, we have other guys staying here…” Jamie suggests. 

“Jay, this is my house. I’m not getting dressed just because other people are here.” He puts the eggs and bacon on the counter and then takes Jamie’s arms and forces them around him. Not that Jamie is complaining about it; he tugs his bondmate close. “Besides, I stayed with them for a bit during the summer before the draft. Dudes literally fucked all over the house. They can deal.” 

Jamie presses a soft kiss to his temple and murmurs, “what if I don’t want any other alphas looking at my bondmate when he’s naked?” 

“Then you’re shit out of luck, since I’m a hockey player that shares a locker room with a bunch of other alphas and I’m sure as hell gonna be naked there,” Tyler responds, causing Jamie to chuckle. “So you gotta be okay with it.” 

“Fine, but don’t blame me when they give you shit about it,” he says, referring to Sid and Geno, before sliding onto one of the stools at the breakfast nook. “Want some help?”

Tyler puts a pile of vegetables, a cutting board, and a knife in front of Jamie and then finishes mixing the eggs with a fork. He pulls some other things out of the fridge, including coffee creamer, and then pours them each a cup. “How do you feel about omelettes?”

“As good as I felt about being in bed with you last night, so pretty fucking fantastic,” Jamie replies easily, grinning. Tyler winks at him and starts mixing eh vegetables that Jamie has cut up into the egg concoction. “Coffee?” Jamie asks. 

Tyler nods and sets the eggs aside, then adds sugar to each of the mugs before passing Jamie his. Just as he’s finished, Sid comes out of the spare room, hair damp from a shower. “Jesus Christ, Seggy, put some pants on.” 

“It’s my house,” Tyler replies as Jamie just buries his head in his coffee. 

Jamie doesn’t even bother listening to the bickering between the two of them, but he does notice when Tyler sighs dramatically and heads to the bedroom to put on a pair of boxer briefs. Jamie gets up to finish breakfast when Tyler disappears and says to Sid, “I told him, before you got up.” 

“I’m not surprised,” Sid replies. He pours a fourth cup of coffee, doctors it significantly and then goes to the spare room. 

When Tyler comes out, Jamie is putting the omelette portions, some cottage cheese and some sliced fruit onto four plates and then setting it out on the table. He leans back into his bondmate when he feels him come up behind him. “You ready?” he asks. 

“Kinda have to be, right?” Tyler replies. 

Over breakfast, Tyler and Sid go over the plan for Tyler meeting with his team’s management, and Geno offers to clean up while Jamie drives Tyler to the rink. 

Outside, Jamie drags Tyler into a kiss. “You’re gonna keep playing hockey, no matter what,” he promises. “Even if we have to go to Russia.”

“Even if we have to go to Russia,” Tyler repeats. They kiss once more, and then Tyler takes a breath before getting out of the car and going into the building. 

Jamie can’t imagine doing anything but staying in the parking lot, car turned off, with him sitting on a curb. He tries to flick through his phone to read the news, tries to do anything to distract himself, but it’s not working. He can feel Tyler’s tension resounding across the bond; it gets worse as the morning continues on. Finally, when Jamie is getting ready to go into the arena and collect Tyler himself, his bondmate appears at the doors. Jamie stands and approaches him, arms stretched out wide to admit him in. “You okay?” he asks softly as he buries his face in the crook of Tyler’s neck, breathing him in.

“For now,” Tyler responds. “Let’s go home, yeah?” 

Jamie nods but presses one last kiss to Tyler’s neck before they get into the car. He drives them back to Tyler’s place in silence. Tyler doesn’t seem to want to talk about the meeting and Jamie doesn’t want to force anything. Once they get back, Tyler leads the way inside the condo and then toward his bedroom. He flops down onto the bed, but before Jamie has the chance to follow, Sid stops him in the kitchen.

“Didn’t go well?” he assumes.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Jamie replies. “When is the bond specialist going to be here?”

“Doctor Sharma will be here this afternoon. You’ve got a bit of time,” Sid tells him. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna go check on him, alright?”

Jamie bristles a little. Tyler is his bondmate and he should be the one to take care of him, but he also knows that Sid has been around for a lot of his ups and downs. It might be better for the other omega to go check on him instead of Jamie right at this moment. Jamie nods and feels a hand clap him on the back.

“Is okay, baby alpha. Sidnushka’s like older brother. You and me, we make meal, omegas have time together,” Geno says. 

Geno bullies him toward the kitchen and then proceeds to force him into learning to cook a few simple dishes. “They hungry when come out,” he says. 

“Can’t we just get take out?” Jamie asks. 

Geno gives him a scandalised look. “Can’t give take out all the time! You cook, for spoil. Make them feel special. Is good, cook for bondmate. Where you learn how to be alpha?” 

Jamie just shrugs. “I don’t have any formal training?” 

Somehow, the look on Geno’s face becomes even more shocked. “How you be good alpha if no train? Nevermind, I teach. First lesson is cook for bondmate.”

Geno is very attentive with his teaching, so much so that Jamie barely even notices Sidney coming back out of Tyler’s room. He’s too busy stirring some sort of sauce and only catches on when he hears Sid say, “he’s okay. He’s just calling his friend right now.”

“Brownie?” Jamie asks. 

“Yeah, I think so,” Sid replies and shrugs. “He says you can go in, though.”

Thankfully, Geno comes and takes the stirring spoon from him and motions toward Tyler’s bedroom with his chin. “Will teach more after.”

Jamie doesn’t hesitate. Tyler is sitting on his bed, on the phone, just as Jamie had expected. “Hey babe,” he says tiredly before patting the bed. “Brownie says hi, and that if you hurt me he’ll break all the bones in your body.” 

“Sounds good,” Jamie replies. He knows that he’s never going to do anything that will cause Brownie to have to act on his threat. He gets into the bed and lets Tyler climb into his arms. He runs his fingers through Tyler’s hair gently as Tyler finishes up his conversation. 

Afterward, Tyler pulls the blankets up around them and snuggles in. “Brownie wants to meet you so he can threaten you properly.” 

“Sure, and uh, Jordie’s gonna wanna meet you to do the same,” Jamie warns him. 

Tyler just chuckles and presses a kiss against Jamie’s shoulder. “We should meet each others’ families too, though,” Tyler adds. “Like, we’re bonded now, so we should start to think about those things. I called my mom while I was in the washroom yesterday, and Brownie too. Have you talked to your family at all?”

Jamie shrugs. He hasn’t contacted them since he’d left with Tyler for Boston aside from to update them about his plans, which are currently: don’t leave Tyler’s side. 

“You didn’t tell them about me?” Tyler asks him.

Jamie can tell that he’s upset before he even looks at Tyler; looking at him is even worse. It appears like his heart is broken, and Jamie never wants to see him like this again. “Ty, no,” Jamie assures him. “I haven’t called them, but I’ve messaged Jordie, and my mom. They know about you. I just haven’t called them, okay?” 

“You should, though,” Tyler states, “I mean, I’m sure they wanna hear from you, you know?” 

Jamie pets Tyler’s arm affectionately and tells him, “I was more concerned with taking care of you, like, in bed.” Jamie flushes and shrugs, running his fingers up his arm. “I just didn’t think about calling them because all I would be telling them about is how amazing my bondmate is in bed.” 

“Bondmate,” Tyler repeats. “I can’t even-” he turns in Jamie’s arms and presses his mouth against Jamie’s lips desperately. They’ve barely touched all day and the sensation sends all of Jamie’s blood running south. He gets his hands on both of Tyler’s biceps and holds him there as they kiss. Jamie chases his lips when Tyler pulls away and they continue to kiss each other like there’s nothing else that they want to be doing. Finally, when they do need to catch their breaths, Tyler breathes, “I’m just really fucking happy, babe.” 

“Me too,” Jamie replies. “I couldn’t be more happy about this.” 

Before they can get too far into each other, Sid knocks on the door. “Geno made lunch. Are you guys coming out?” 

***

After they finish eating, the bond specialist arrives. Sid and Jamie had managed to get Tyler into clothing, at least, even though it’s just a pair of sweats and another Bruins shirt. Jamie shakes her hand as she comes in.

“Thanks for coming, Mads,” Sid says. 

“Well, you said it was an emergency,” the doctor replies. She looks at Tyler and Jamie and nods toward them. “I’m Doctor Sharma, but please, call me Madhuri. I’ve been taking care of Sidney and Geno since they bonded. They said that you may have been misinformed about your level?”

Tyler nods and motions for her to sit down. Since this has nothing to do with them, Sid and Geno decide to head out for a while, after giving ‘Mads’ a hug each, and also Tyler, at his own insistence. Jamie is proud that he doesn’t even feel the inkling to step between Tyler and Geno this time. 

Once they’re gone, Tyler and Jamie launch into the story about how they came to be bonded. 

“You’re certainly not a level five. I can tell just by what you smell like,” she tells them simply. “What did you say to the other specialist before they determined that you were that level?”

Tyler tells her everything, in detail, about how they’d been able to smell each other from across the rink, how they’d had dinner afterward and talked about waiting to bond properly. The whole time, her face gets more and more tight. 

Once Tyler is finished, she takes a breath, “that’s not even enough information to guess at a bond level,” she says, clearly annoyed at the situation. “Which is what that specialist should have told you. There was no way to determine the bond level, especially with only one of you present. If you don’t mind, I’ll take their name, and have something done about this.”

“We’re okay being bonded, though,” Jamie protests.

“That’s not the point. The point is that this person is giving incorrect information to people that need the information to be accurate. They are doing so under the pretense of proper training and we can’t have that happening. This field is very difficult to navigate in the first place, so we can’t have shoddy specialists outright lying to people.”

Tyler shares a look with him and then nods before handing over the card of whoever he’d gone to see. He shrugs over at Jamie, “worked out for us, but maybe not for other people, you know?”

“Thank you,” Madhuri tells them. “Now, I don’t have all the equipment I need, but I can trying to figure out your level with what I’ve got here. I’d like for you to attend a _reputable_ clinic as soon as possible, and I’ll give you some recommendations for the best ones.”

After that, Madhuri takes them through a series of exercises to try to determine their level. It ends up being kind of fun, actually, and by the end, all three of them are giggling and having a good time. Once the exercises are complete, Madhuri tells them to go get a snack while she quickly goes over the results. Tyler offers her a snack as well when they all come back together.

“Now, none of this is confirmed, not until you go to a clinic for further tests,” she tells them. “Right now, you seem to be functioning around a level six, which is quite high for a newly bonded couple. The only ones I’ve ever seen higher are Geno and Sidney. This leads me to believe that you will settle at a level one or a level two bond.”

“That’s why we bonded so fast,” Tyler whispers. 

“Precisely,” Madhuri replies. “And I believe that you likely bonded the first time you were intimate.”

“I mean, it was really good…” 

“It really really was,” Jamie agrees. 

“And I’m assuming that happened after you won the cup, Tyler?” She adds, arching a meticulously sculpted eyebrow.

“Uh, yeah, it did,” Tyler states. “What does this have to do with it?” 

“The effects of alcohol have been proven to mask the feeling of a bond establishing. That, and the feelings the two of you had already developed would have made it difficult to notice the bond right away. It makes sense that it took the two of you several days to notice the bond in place, especially if you continued celebrating…”

“We did,” Jamie replies. They’d spent those few days after the cup win in varied states of intoxication, so everything she’s saying makes absolute sense. 

“That’s what I thought,” she says, giving them a smile. “I’m happy for you. You seem to really care for each other.”

She leaves shortly after that, stating that her wife is waiting in a nearby hotel for her. Once they close the door, Tyler looks over at Jamie and states, “level fucking two, Jay.”

“Or level one,” Jamie adds. “That’s insane.”

“It really is. I never once thought-“

“But it’s us. I mean, I wanted you right away. I would have done anything you wanted that night,” Jamie tells him.

“I know, I would have done the same,” Tyler replies. He takes Jamie’s hand and snuggles into him, leaning his head on his shoulder. “I mean, I’m still pissed that I was lied to, but I’m really fucking happy that it’s you.”

“Me too, babe,” Jamie agrees. “I couldn’t have asked for anyone better for me than you are.” 

They’re still tangles up on the couch when Sid and Geno come back in. Sid grins over at them but doesn’t push for them to talk about the session at all, which is nice. Jamie wants to keep the good news between just the two of them for the moment.

***

Jamie calls his parents after dinner while Tyler and Sid snuggle on the couch, watching the game where the Bruins won the cup. Geno rolls his eyes when Sid starts talking about the defensive style on both teams and suggests they watch a movie instead. Jamie holes himself up in Tyler’s room and chats with his mom about his new bonded status and about how into his bondmate he is. 

“So it’s that boy from the Bruins? The young one?” she asks, even though she already knows. 

“Yeah, Tyler,” Jamie replies. “And he’s- uh- he’s really great. I really like him.” 

“I can tell. We’d love to meet him,” she adds. “You can’t hide in Boston all summer.” 

“I know, and he wants to meet you guys too, we’re just figuring some sh- uh- stuff out right now. His offseason just started, and we need to figure out training and everything.” He doesn’t mention that Sid and Geno are here with them since he doesn’t think that the other couple would want him to. “But we’ll figure it out, okay? And I’ll let you know uh- are you going to make us sleep in separate rooms?” She does with Jenn and the various girlfriends and boyfriends she’s brought home in the past, but none of them have ever been bonded.

“You know the rules.”

“But we’re bonded,” Jamie replies.

“Bonded is still not married, Jamie,” his mother replies. “He can sleep in the spare room until he’s got a ring on his finger.” 

“Yeah, okay,” Jamie concedes as he decides that he and Tyler can just stay in a hotel while they visit. It’s crazy of his mom to think that they shouldn’t be sharing a bed after bonding. But then, he also is aware that if he and Tyler share a bed in his parents’ house, they’ll probably end up being caught having sex, so going to a hotel is a much better plan. 

He chats with his mom a bit longer and then hangs up. He texts with Jordie a bit before going out to the living room and sinking down next to Tyler. “My mom wants us to come visit.”

“Mine too,” Tyler tells him as he tangles their fingers together. “We’ll figure it out, make a game plan, babe.” 

“For sure,” Jamie replies. 

Geno glances at the two of them, then at Sid before saying, “baby alpha back, we go to bed now?” 

Tyler looks at them incredulously, “jesus, you guys go to bed early.”

“Sure,” Sid agrees just as Geno adds, “just clear for fuck, after concussion and we want take advantage.”

“Zhenya!” Sid protests.

“What? You think they not be fucking when they go to bed?” 

“We definitely fucking will be,” Tyler chimes in.

“See? Not secret, Sidnushka. Is all good.” He reaches for Sid, who goes to him more than willingly. “Goodnight, babies,” Geno tells them.

Tyler gets up and hugs both Sid and Geno. “Must have been tough, not being able to be with your alpha because of head trauma,” he mentions. “I can’t even-”

“That why you need to be extra careful. Accidents happen, but try to be careful on the ice. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Not even a Flyer,” Sid says with no hint of irony. “It’s been terrible, but it’s better now. And I just really missed Zhenya,” he admits with a shrug.

“I’m miss too,” Geno admits. “So now we go. Have fun, babies!” 

Tyler gets back onto the couch with Jamie once the other two leave, and Jamie pulls him in closely. He presses a kiss to Tyler’s temple and then gets his arms around his waist. “They really love each other, don’t they?” 

“Relationship goals, am I right?” Tyler replies. “I always wanted what they have. They’re so cute, and hot, and like, perfect together.”

“But you didn’t want to bond,” Jamie replies, confused.

“Yeah, about that.” Tyler turns to look at him properly and takes both Jamie’s hands in his. “You weren’t the first alpha that I was compatible with. I mean, you’re the first one that I’m this compatible with but, uh, you’re not the first one.” 

“What do you mean?” Jamie asks him. “Who was the other one?”

“Uh… Jagr?” Tyler offers.

“You’re compatible with fucking Jagr?” Jamie asks, wide eyed.

Tyler nods and bites his lip. “Yeah, I am. But, like, he didn’t want to bond. I went to talk to him after the game, just like I did with you, and he basically shot me down hard. And like, I always thought that when you found the person you’re compatible with, everything else would fall into place. So I didn’t give a shit that he was like, twenty years older than me, or that he was fucking Jagr, I wanted to bond as soon as I could, and I finally found an alpha. I thought that if we just talked to each other, he would realize that he wanted me too, and that’s not what happened.” 

Tyler looks down and bites his lip. “He just didn’t want me, and I didn’t know what to do about it. And then I found you, and all you wanted was me, and I didn’t know what to do about that either.” 

“I will always want you, Ty,” Jamie assures him. “And we’re gonna have what they have, because we deserve it, you fucking deserve it.”

“I was just afraid to tell you that I wanted it, and like, right away. I didn’t want you to say no. I thought I’d give you a chance to get to know me first, and like, fall in love with me.” 

“It worked,” Jamie replies, smiling and rubbing his nose against Tyler’s. “But I was in love with you basically right away. You didn’t have to work for it.” 

Tyler presses forward and kisses Jamie lightly, before continuing. “I felt really bad that he didn’t want to bond, thought it was something about me. So I kinda tried to fuck the idea of wanting to bond out of my system. And then I tried not to get attached to you the same way, just in case you changed your mind.” 

“I won’t,” Jamie replies. “I’ll never change my mind about this. Jagr is an asshole for not wanting you, but I’m not mad that he didn’t. If he did, I wouldn’t have you.” 

“You’re hotter anyway,” Tyler states, bringing light to the situation. “Hotter and probably better at sex, since you’re better than anyone else I’ve ever gotten fucked by.” 

“I’m not sure that has anything to do with me,” Jamie shrugs. “The bond is making you think that.” 

“It’s all about you, because you being you is the reason we bonded, so shut up and let me tell you how good you are at making me feel amazing, babe.” 

“Fine, go on,” Jamie relents, finally. 

“Or, I could just show you. That way there’s no doubt.”

Jamie chuckles and then kisses Tyler’s nose. “Yeah, I can do that,” he agrees. 

***

They’re woken up the next morning to a pounding on the door. “Tyler?” Jamie hears Sid ask. “Ty, you need to check your phone. It’s really important.” 

Jamie is reaching for his own phone while Tyler rubs his eyes and stretches. He takes a look at the screen and his heart sinks as he does so. “Holy fuck,” he breathes as he reads a message from Jordie. All it says is _your boy’s been traded_.

He looks over to see Tyler frowning, is about to ask what’s going on when Tyler growls, “fucking Edmonton, for a seventh round pick!?” Jamie watches as Tyler starts flicking through text messages to try and decipher what exactly has happened. “This has to be a fucking joke. I was chosen second in my fucking draft year. I just helped win the fucking Stanley Cup!”

It’s not a joke. When Tyler shrugs Jamie off of him, Jamie gets up and lets Sid and Geno into the room. The three of them pile onto the bed as Tyler stares at his phone in disbelief. “A seventh round pick, what the fuck?” He says quietly. 

Jamie doesn’t even know what to say. All he wants to do is rip the Bruins management to shreds. He pulls Tyler back against his chest and glares down at Tyler’s phone, which just keeps lighting up with notifications about the trade. Instead of saying anything, he squeezes Tyler tightly.

“We’ll figure this out, Ty,” Sid tells him, pressing into his other side. “I told you what we’re working on. Right now, we just have to pretend that everything is fine, eh?” 

“Everything is most certainly not fine,” Tyler growls. “I was just traded to the worst team in the league! And… it’s really far from Jamie.” 

“As soon as the new rules go through, they won’t have any claim on you. Just, we need to be patient,” Sid insists. 

Sid has told them all about what the new rules will be, about how when two players on different teams bond, they’ll essentially become free agents, with their contracts null. That way, teams can bid on them and they can decide where they want to go. Obviously, there is no world in which he and Tyler will go to Boston, but it makes it possible for Dallas to claim them both. Jamie wants nothing more than to have Tyler with him in Dallas. 

“I’m gonna figure this out, I promise,” Sid tells them before tugging Geno back out of the room, to give them some privacy, Jamie is sure.

Tyler collapses on top of Jamie once they leave and Jamie starts to weave his fingers through his hair. “Hey, even if we have to go to Russia, babe,” he assures him. “I don’t give a fuck what the NHL wants. If they try to keep us apart, we’re gonna show them that we’re not gonna follow their rules.” 

Tyler sighs and then takes a deep breath; Jamie hopes that his exuding a comforting scent to him. “It’s just- it’s a shitty solution because I know we both want to be here.” 

“Yeah, but if they try to keep us apart, they don’t deserve to have us here. You said that Russia is better for omegas anyway-“

“Yeah, G was telling me that they’re like, practically worshiped over there. No way I would have been traded for a seventh round pick,” Tyler complains. 

They spend another little bit in the bedroom together, until finally Tyler drags Jamie into the adjacent bathroom for a shower. When they finally head out into the main area of the condo, Geno has made (or ordered) a full spread of comfort type foods and Sid looks like he’s ready to start a war. He’s the one who motions for them to sit down even though it’s Tyler’s condo.

After they finish eating, Sid sets his hands on the table and says, “I contacted the Pens management and we’re working to get you traded to us. From there, we’ll try to get you to the Stars. The problem we’re running into is that the Bruins traded you for almost nothing, and now Edmonton wants a lot more for you.”

“Bruins are fucking stupid,” Jamie intones. He reaches over and squeezes Tyler’s hand underneath the table. 

“Bears fucking stupid,” Geno repeats in agreement. “But Sid fix. He good at fix.”

Sid smiles over at his bondmate- and husband judging by the rings Jamie keeps catching Tyler ogling- and then turns back to the two of them. “I also called Pat and told him that we need to rush our negotiations with the NHLPA. I’m not sure how far we’ll get if the two of you plan to keep your bond a secret… There’s just no urgency if there’s not a case for it. How do you feel about coming out and talking about your bond?”

“I’ve never had a problem with being public about my biology,” Tyler tells them. “And I don’t wanna put the Pens out just so that you can get me to Dallas.” 

“You won’t. The only people that are suffering from this trade are the Bruins, but this just adds another element of difficulty to what we’re trying to do.” 

“Let’s go public then. That way we force their hand,” Jamie intones. “I don’t give a fuck about who suffers because of what the Bruins did, I just wanna make sure that Tyler and I are both in a place that wants to see us grow in the sport. I know we’re not you guys, but I think that if we do have to go over to the KHL, it will be a loss here, and that’s something that the NHLPA needs to recognize.” 

“I agree with you completely,” Sid states. “So I have a proposition for you.”

“I like the sound of that,” Tyler says cheekily.

Sid rolls his eyes and continues. “The two of you do a presser soon, tomorrow preferably. State that you’ve bonded and you intend to remain together. Tell the NHLPA that there need to be rules about bonding to someone on another team, especially since we’re seeing more omegas coming into the league now. Once you’ve made a nice big mess for them, fuck off to our beach house in Florida with us. We’re not in a hockey town so no one is going to recognize you. We can stay there however long we need to, until they figure their shit out.” 

Jamie nods along with Tyler. “I know the Stars are trying to get Tyler too, so the Pens might not even have to put a bid in.”

“Good to know,” Sid replies. “So, should I set this up?”

“Do it,” Tyler responds. “We need to. We’re not the only guys that these new rules are gonna affect. There are other omegas that I know wanna make it up to the show, and this is just gonna make it better for all of us.” 

Jamie squeezes his hand again and then leans over to kiss his cheek. “Yeah, let’s set this up.”

Sid grins at them from across the decimated meal on the table. “Alright then, let’s go boys.”

**Author's Note:**

> There should be one more part of this particular series. Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later but that seems unlikely given Grad School. 
> 
> Leave a comment or some kudos and it will make the hell that is Grad School much more bearable :)


End file.
